Key Democrat accuses Justice Department of spying on Epstein-file oversight

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House Judiciary Committee top Democrat Jamie Raskin asked the Justice Department inspector general to investigate what he described as “spying” on members of Congress reviewing records tied to Jeffrey Epstein, after photos appeared to show Attorney General Pam Bondi looking at what appeared to be a lawmaker’s search-history information during a hearing. Raskin’s request came after lawmakers began reviewing versions of the Epstein files with fewer redactions this week, according to the Associated Press.

The AP reported that photographs taken during Bondi’s Wednesday appearance before the House Judiciary Committee showed her holding an open folder on a page labeled “Jayapal Pramila Search History.” The same AP account said the folder listed documents that appeared to have been reviewed.

Rep. Pramila Jayapal, who is a Democrat and was among the committee members pressing Bondi during the hearing, called the episode “totalmente inaceptable.” In an X post cited by the AP, Jayapal said lawmakers “exigirán una rendición de cuentas completa” about how the Justice Department used the search-history information, and she added that Bondi had “tiempo de sobra para espiar a miembros del Congreso” but could not find time to apologize to Epstein abuse survivors.

Raskin’s letter-like allegations, as described by the AP, went beyond the specific photos. The AP said Raskin asserted that the Justice Department had not only retained records from lawmakers but that Bondi and her team were “spying” on members conducting congressional oversight “in otro intento flagrante de entrometerse en los procesos de supervisión del Congreso.”

In a statement included in the AP report, Raskin urged the Justice Department to stop tracking the searches of any member and to open the Epstein review to high-level congressional staff. He also said the Justice Department should publicly disclose all Epstein files “—con toda la información de los sobrevivientes, y sólo la información de los sobrevivientes, debidamente tachada— como exige la ley federal,” according to the English-to-Spanish translation included with the AP account.

The AP also reported that a bipartisan contingent of lawmakers traveled in recent days to a Justice Department facility to review records that still appeared to have more limited redactions than earlier versions. Some lawmakers who saw the documents, the AP said, complained that too much information about Epstein associates remained hidden.

The Justice Department, under President Donald Trump, said last month it was disclosing more than 3 million pages related to Epstein investigations, along with more than 2,000 videos and 180,000 images, the AP reported. The AP said Justice Department spokespeople did not respond to a comment request on Thursday, and a representative from the inspector general’s office declined to comment.